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Plans for Pleasant 

Home Surrounding's 

WM. flemer. 

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'^T^HE interest in landscape gardening, that first and 
-*- greatest of all arts, continually spreads and deepens. 
Optimists tell us that there is no more hopeful indication 
of our increased culture as a nation. We are learning 
the obligations of ownership, and that the grounds sur- 
rounding our homes reflect our tastes and individuality 
quite as much as the houses we live in. Indeed, our first 
impressions of people are usually formed from the way in 
which their yards are planted and kept. 

In every bit of lawn there are landscape possibilities. 
We would aid in developing them. With so much of 
good taste spreading like leaven, we believe that the only 
reason why more yards are not made beautiful is that 
their owners do not know how to set about the work. 
Therefore, the object of this booklet is to help the 
average householder solve the problem of the decoration 
of his lot. It is also a supplement to our general cata- 
logue, offered with the hope that it may be helpful in 
choosing from among the many varieties described those 

most suited to individual needs. 

WM. FLEMER 

Copyright, 1903, by IVm. Flemer SPRINGFIELD, NEW JERSEY 



Some Important 
Preliminaries 

All work that is well and intelligently done must center about 
a plan. In landscape gardening this is of unusual importance. 
After a careful study of the bit of ground to be made beautiful, 
the plan is drawn to scale. While doing this the eye of the mind 
must see two pictures : the work as it will look when just com- 
pleted, and the plan as it will look years hence when mellowed 
by time with the full growth of the materials you planted. 

So much depends upon wise and tasteful planning ; so much 
time, work and money are lost if radical changes in plans become 
necessary, that in succeeding pages we have given due promi- 
nence to this branch of outdoor art. 

In grading and leveling it is important that there should be 
a slight incline away from the house. Steep terraces are to be 
avoided ; slopes or easy natural curves keep in order much longer, 
seldom need repairing and are easier to mow. If there must be 
a steep bank, clothe it with masses of shrubbery and plants suited 
to the location. The entire surface of the ground should be 
evenly spread with at least a foot of good soil, or coated heavily 
with well-decayed stable manure. 

CONVENIENT DRIVES AND WALKS 

These should be as few and short as possible. Next to 
convenience, grace must be considered. A slight curve is more 
graceful and natural in appearance than a straight line. Another 
fixed principle in landscape art is that walks, drives and plant- 
ings shall be so located as to leave as broad a stretch of open 
lawn as can be preserved. 

The walks need not be expensive, as they can be made of 
any material that is convenient. In some quite pretty gardens 
the walks are of grass kept as a lawn should be. While open to 
some objections they are more sightly than gravel walks, and 
appear quite often in the plans of one of our best landscape 
artists. 



JVM. FLEMER, SPRINGFIELD, N. J. 

THE GREEN SWARD 

To all the beautiful things we plant upon a lawn its coat of 
grass forms the background. A smooth, velvety green turf is 
therefore a first essential in all outdoor art, and no pains should 
be spared to insure its success. When the grading has been per- 
fected and a deep, even mulch of fertilizer applied, the top soil 
which is to receive the seed must be thoroughly raked over, until 
the tilth is fine and all stones or rough litter removed. 

The cleanest seed that can be obtained is always cheapest in 
the end. For average soils a good mixture would be two-thirds 
red top, with one-third Kentucky blue grass. A little white 
clover may be added, if desired. Choose a quiet day for the 
sowing, scattering the seed evenly and thickly. Six bushels to 
the acre is none too much. 

A sharp steel rake is best for covering the seed. After the 
trees and shrubs have been planted, roll with a heavy iron roller. 
As soon as the grass is high enough the mower should be used, 
and the oftener thereafter the better. New lawns are improved 
by an occasional rolling. 

TASTEFUL GROUPING AND PLANTING 

The ideal landscape consists of open spaces and pretty vistas 
through a fitting framework of trees, shrubs and flowers. A 
pretty bit of landscape can be made of almost every lawn or lot. 
It is always possible in grouping and massing hardy stock to 
preserve good views and screen objectionable ones. Somewhere 
about the grounds, usually near the center, there should be a 
broad, unbroken sweep of grass. The outskirts should be planted 
in beds and masses, with large bays and projections, where, later, 
new shrubs and plants may be added at the owner's pleasure. 
The larger-growing plants must be set where, at maturity, they 
will not hide smaller ones. 

Trees with bold outlines give character to a plan when grow- 
ing near the boundaries ; smaller, more choice sorts lend a charm 
to the foreground. Keep plants of the same variety together, 
setting them in masses. Good color effects are produced in this 
way, and repetition avoided ; there need be no two groups alike. 

The borders should be set with plants of good, low habit, 
that will retain their foliage to the root. All plants of l«ggy, 
spindling growth are in place at the centers of beds or in the 
background. 

3 



PLANS FOR PLEASANT HOME SURROUNDINGS 



DETAILS OF PLANTING 

For most hardy trees and plants in this section we recommend 
fall planting. Dig generous holes, larger than the roots can be 
spread out to fill. Cut back to sound wood all bruised or decay- 
ing roots and branches, making clean, sharp cuts that will heal 
quickly. Dip the roots in water before planting, then set them 
only a little, if any, deeper than they stood in the nursery. Fine, 
fertile soil must be well worked in among the roots and tramped 
firmly. This is all-important. Water poured upon the soil when 
the hole is about two-thirds full serves a double purpose — to 
keep the roots moist and to settle the earth well about them. 
This is not so easily done after the surface is leveled about the 
tree or shrub. 

Rich, fresh soil should be used for filling in about the roots 
of hardy stock, but never fresh manures, as they burn or dry up 
the tender roots. A mulch of well-rotted stable manure spread 
over the surface of the ground after the planting is done tends to 
conserve the moisture and protects the roots from alternate freez- 
ing and thawing. We advise such a mulch for spring-planted 
stock, also to keep the soil moist and cool. 

PRUNE INTELLIGENTLY 

All trees and shrubs should be given room to develop in a 
natural, graceful way. The shearing of large-growing shrubs 
into small spaces or set shapes is in place only in formal gardens 
of foreign aspect. Intelligent pruning, then, consists in merely 
assisting a shrub's development by cutting out weak or crowded 
shoots, diseased or dying growth, and rank, straggling branches. 

People who prune without considering the blooming time of 
their trees and shrubs frequently cut away an entire crop of 
flowers. Varieties that bloom in spring and early summer should 
be pruned after their flowers have faded. Altheas, Hydrangea 
paniculata, and other hardy stock that blooms in fall should be 
pruned back in early spring. 



WM. FLEMER, SPRINGFIELD, N. J. 



PLANS FOR SUBURBAN LOTS 

Usually the owner of a lot finds the laying out and planting 
of his small domain quite fascinating work. As the planning is 
the most important and most difficult part of it, we have included 
in this booklet a few plans the arrangement of which can be made 
to fit the average suburban lot. For smaller plots some shrubs of 
each variety may be omitted ; for larger ones additions can be 
made. For a plot of unusual proportions or extraordinary loca- 
tion, requiring especial study, we can make a detailed planting 
plan, if furnished with a map of the place. This map should 
give exact dimensions and location of the buildings or other fixed 
objects. It must be drawn from actual measurements, and, 
preferably, to a scale of one-fourth or one-eighth inches to the foot. 

In the plans submitted, especial care has been given to selec- 
tion. Varieties have been chosen that will give permanent effects, 
and they are located according to their habits. The soil, climate 
and location of a place have necessarily much to do with the choice 
of planting materials for it. We must secure such as are adapted 
to the location, easily taken care of, and will produce such a 
continual variety of bloom and leafage as to make the place 
attractive through the whole season. 

The house in Plan C has rustic stonework as a base for the 
front porch. As there is quite an inclination in the surface 
toward the right, this base is about ten feet at the corner tower, 
while at the porte-cochere corner it is less than four feet. To 
conceal the wall at all seasons, it was decided to bank a selection 
of the best dwarf conifers around the base. The result has been 
most gratifying, for the effect is fine the year round. The con- 
trasts between the different tones of green foliage, with the various 
golden, yellow, blue, silver and bronzy tints is fairly indescri- 
bable. On any place where there is sufficient room to display 
them we recommend the use of a similar bed of these dwarf 
conifers. Nothing else that can be used for bedding is so con- 
tinually beautiful, so easily kept in order, or so permanent in 
character. The brighter tints of the young, growing foliage give 
a pretty variety in spring. 

A careful study of the arrangement of the materials and of 
the combinations shown on the following plans will be found 
very helpful to the amateur, and will enable him to plant taste- 
fully and satisfactorily any ordinary suburban lot. 



PLANS FOR PLEASANT HOME SURROUNDINGS 
PLANTING LISTS 

Copyrighted, 1903, by Wm. Flemer 

C 

2 Clematis paniculata. 

1 Wistaria. 

1 Clematis Jackmani. 

16 Ampelopsis Veitchi. 

1 Hall's honeysuckle. 

1 Climbing rose, Dorothy Perkins. 

2 Crimson Rambler. 

10 Grape-vines of sorts. 

1 Austrian pine. 

2 Norway spruce. 

1 Frazer's fir. 

1 Oriental spruce. 

1 Bhotan pine. 

1 Douglas' spruce. 

400 Privet hedge plants. 

5 Euonymus radicans. 

5 White lilac. 

4 Red-branched dogwood. 

Prunus Pissardit. 

3 Forsythia <viridissima. 

4 Hypericum densiflorum. 

1 Variegated-leaved althea. 

1 Elaagnus angustifolia. 

3 Catalpa Bungei. 

2 Tamarix. 

9 Spiraa Van Houttei. 

1 Double-flowered crimson thorn. 

2 Weigela rosea. 

Crab apple, or pear tree. 

18 Rugosa roses. 

3 Black alder. 

1 Persian lilac. 

Purple lilac. 

1 Sweet cherry tree. 

4 Rhodotypus. 

4 Cydonia Japonica. 

4 Eulalia zebrina. 

2 Weigela Candida. 

4 Clethra. 

4 Spiraa callosa. 

Cherry tree. 

2 Double altheas. 

5 Forsythia suspensa. 





, 


Plans- 


Fig 


A 


B 


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17 


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21 


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22 


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23 


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24 


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26 


3 


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27 


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Fig 


A 


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28 


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10 


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37 


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61 


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64 


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18 


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67 


3 


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69 


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70 


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71 


1 


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72 


4 


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73 


3 


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74 


1 





WM. FLEMER, SPRINGFIELD, N. J. 



c 

1 Golden syringa. 

Pear, or Japan plum tree. 

1 Purple fringe. 

29 Hydrangea paniculata grandiflora. 

4 Red snowberry. 

2 Kerria Japonica. 

1 English strawberry tree. 

6 Weigela, Eva Rathke. 

Pear tree. 

5 Aralia pentaphylla, 

13 Spirea, Anthony Waterer. 

1 Retinospora filif era. 

2 Retinospora squarrosa. 

1 Nordmann's fir. 

2 Colorado blue spruce. 

3 Retinospora plumosa aurea. 

2 Japan holly. 

3 Japan maples. 

1 Japan tree lilac. 

2 Cut-leaved weeping birch. 

2 Eulalia gracillima. 

2 Azalea Vaseyi. 

20 Azalea mollis. 

5 Dwarf viburnum, Opulus. 

Andromeda Japonica. 

1 Magnolia Halleana. 

1 Sugar maple or linden. 

26 Berberis Thunbergii. 

17 Purple barberry. 

Purple barberry. 

Berberis Thunbergii. 

18 Spiraa Thunbergii. 

6 Japan snowball. 

1 Japan rose-flowered weeping cherry. 

16 Rhododendron Ei>erestianum. 

8 Kalmia latifolia. 

Rhododendron, Chas. Dickens. 

13 Azalea amana. 

Berberis ilicifolia. 

Japan snowball. 

10 Deutzia gracilis. 

Deutzia Lemoinei. 

4 Lonicera Morroivi. 

1 White fringe. 

5 Weigela, Variegated -leaved. 

20 Stephanandra flexuosa. 

2 Exochorda. 



PLANS FOR PLEASANT HOME SURROUNDINGS 



c 

4 Philadelphus coronarius . 

4 Viburnum Lantana. 

Hydrangea paniculata grandifiora. 

i Cercidiphyllum. 

6 .... . Lonicera Tatarica. 

i White-flowered dogwood. 

2 Calycanthus. 

2 American Elm. 

Spiraa Billardii. 

i Laburnum. 

i Spiraa aurea. 

2 Viburnum dentatum. 

i Red -flowered dogwood. 

3 Deutzia crenata. 

12 Golden elder. 

4 Philadelphus grandifiora. 

2 . . . . Rhus typhina laciniata. 
12 Prunus Pissardi. 

3 Laurel-leaved willow. 

3 Deutzia, Pride of Rochester 

3 Eulalia Japonica. 

Champion quince tree. 

4 Spiraa Bumalda. 

i Double-flowering almond. 

3 Kerria Japonica 'variegata. 

8o Bedding roses. 

4 Caryopteris mastacanthus. 

6 Callicarpa. 

3 Variegated-leaved cornus. 

1 6 Spiraa arguta. 

i Spiraa rotundifolia. 

2 White snowberry. 

5 Spiraa prunifolia. 

4 Lithrum roseum. 

13 Yuccas. 

150 Herbaceous plants: Dicentra, holly- 
hocks, iris, chrysanthemums, phlox, 
coreopsis, funkia, peonies, plum- 
bago, caryopteris, tritoma, dianthus, 
hypericum, etc. 

2 .... . Dwarf Mugho pine. 

8 Mahonia Japonica. 

5 Euonymus Japonicus. 

1 Halesia, or silver bell. 

3 Lombardy poplar. 

1 English larch. 

1 Magnolia Soulangeana. 







PLANS- 


Fig 


A 


B 


75 


4 


2 


76 


1 




77 


6 




78 


1 




79 


5 




80 


1 




81 


3 




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83 


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84 


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86 


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87 


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89 


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8 


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92 


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93 


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1 


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4 




95 


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96 


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97 


3 


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99 


6 


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100 


7 


12 


101 


4 




102 


8 


2 


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1 




104 


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105 


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107 


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2 




109 


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100 


28 



in 


1 


1 


112 


28 


2 


113 


5 


6 


114 






"5 






116 






117 








PLAN A 



Lot 75 x 150 feet 




PLAN B 



Lot 50 x 125 feet 



JVM. FLEMER, SPRINGFIELD, N. J. 

< PLANS > 

Fig A B c 

118 i Magnolia acuminata. 

119 1 Weeping beech. 

120 1 Purple-leaved beech. 

121 2 Salisburia. 

122 1 Pyramidal sheared box. 

123 2 Weeping Norway spruce. 

124 1 Weeping mulberry. 

125 1 Fern-leaved beech. 

126 1 Andromeda arborea. 

127 1 Linden. 

128 7 Myrica. 

129 9 Hypericum Moserianum. 

130 1 Pyramidal arborvitas. 

131 1 Compacta arborvitae. 

132 2 Globosa arborvitae. 

133 1 Hovey's Golden arborvitae. 

134 1 George Peabody arborvitae (Biota). 

135 i Elegantissima arborvitae. 

136 1 Nana aurea arborvitae. 

137 3 Boxwood. 

138 2 Douglas' golden juniper. 

139 1 Japan juniper. 

140 2 Irish juniper. 

141 1 Elegantissima juniper. 

142 3 Savin juniper. 

143 1 Striata juniper. 

145 17 Tamarixifolia juniper. 

146 1 Dwarf white pine. 

147 1 Retinospora compacta. 

148 2 Retinospora ericoides. 

150 2 Retinospora obtusa nana. 

151 1 Retinospora plumosa. 

152 2 Retinospora obtusa nana aurea. 

153 1 Retinospora pisifera aurea. 

155 1 Pumila spruce. 

156 1 . . . . • Chinese cypress. 

157 1 Virginia creeper. 



PLANS FOR PLEASANT HOME SURROUNDINGS 



A Few Hints on Varieties 

It is usually difficult for an amateur to choose from a large 
stock the few varieties best adapted to a small place. Long lists 
are puzzling and confusing. Our long experience has been 
placed at his service in this chapter of 

SELECTIONS FROM OUR CATALOGUE 

specifying the uses of only the most beautiful sorts suited for 
planting on grounds of limited extent. Some of them are already 
well known ; others, less familiar, are equally deserving. In 
cities, where there is always more or less smoke and gas, among 

STREET TREES FOR SHADE 

probably the best all-round tree is the Oriental Plane, or the 
Green-leaved Poplar, both of which grow rapidly into hand- 
some trees ; the Oriental Plane having bark almost as white as the 
birch's quaint " button-ball " seeds, and large, dark green leaves, 
a little more deeply cut than those of our American species. 
While the Green-leaved Poplar much resembles the old Silver- 
leaved sort, it is of a better form and habit and its leaves of a 
darker green. 

For village streets we would give preference to the American 
Elm, since it is a much grander tree. The beetle that once 
scourged it seems to have had its day. This, also, is a tree of 
strong, lofty growth, noted everywhere for its grace and elegance 
as an avenue or specimen tree. 

The Lindens cast a dense shade, delightfully perfumed by 
their lemon-scented flowers. They are quite robust in growth, 
and their regular, ovate outlines fit them well for street and 
avenue planting. The Silver-leaved Linden is an especially fine 
variety of the European species. Its dark, glossy leaves show 
their white lining in silvery ripples with the passing of every 
breeze. 

The Silver and Norway Maples are perhaps more largely 
used in cities than any other trees. When quick growth is espe- 
cially desired the Silver Maple is usually chosen. The Norway 
is also vigorous in habit, and of a more permanent character. 



WM. FLEMER, SPRINGFIELD, N. J. 

Both endure the ordinary street abuses with much fortitude, 
forming beautiful trees even under adverse conditions. 

Because of its unusually rapid growth the Carolina Poplar 
has been in great demand of late years. We have always discour- 
aged exclusive planting of this tree, because results are so unsatis- 
factory. Where the quickest possible growth is desired for almost 
immediate shade, several authorities recommend planting the 
Carolina Poplar alternately with other better trees, but in such 
urgent cases we would use instead the Green-leaved Poplar. 
This is really a fine tree, makes a compact round head, and holds 
its foliage well into the fall, while having the same valued charac- 
teristic of very rapid growth. 

The Norway Maple, Elm, and the Lindens, notably the 
Silver-leaved, might also well be classed among 

LARGE TREES OF UPRIGHT HABIT 

for lawn planting. The leaves of the Purple Beech are crimson 
in spring, changing with summer to purple and purplish green. 
It forms a handsome and conspicuous specimen tree, or, if 
grouped with trees of silvery or light green leafage, like the 
English Larch, the other Beeches, the Silver-leaved Lindens, 
etc., gives wonderfully fine contrasts. 

The Cut-leaved White Birch, frequently classed as a weep- 
ing tree because of its gracefully drooping branches, has a straight 
upright trunk white as a marble column and an air of great 
elegance. If it can be planted where some dark-foliaged tree or 
evergreen can serve as a foil for its silvery winter outlines 'twill 
be a thing of beauty to enjoy all the year. 

The English Larch is a deciduous conifer that grows fast into 
a tall, pyramidal tree on nearly all soils. In early spring its 
young tufts of needle-like leaves are a pretty rose color, changing 
with early summer to a fleecy cloud of light green ; later in 
autumn they are a clear bright yellow. Such trees as this are 
needed to give variety to the many oval and round-topped ones 
with ordinary leaves. 

The Scarlet and Schwedler Maples have fine traits that 
make them interesting and valuable for planting on small lawns. 
The flowers of the Scarlet Maple are brilliant very early in spring, 
before any deciduous tree has started into leaf. Later, in mild 
climates, its seed-pods color almost as vividly. In autumn it is 



PLANS FOR PLEASANT HOME SURROUNDINGS 

again conspicuous for its scarlet foliage. Both these trees are 
rounded and neat in growth, — hardy, healthy and happy in all 
soils. The Schwedler, or Purple Norway Maple, is a rarer tree, 
with young shoots and leaves of a bright purplish crimson in 
spring. They deepen in summer to purplish green. 

Magnolia acuminata, the Cucumber Tree, grows rapidly into 
a fine pyramid 60 to 90 feet high, clothed with the large, glossy 
foliage that is characteristic of all the Magnolias, and spangled in 
midsummer with showy creamy yellow blossoms. Its large 
cucumber-shaped fruits are almost as conspicuous in autumn, 
when they color to rich crimson. 

Magnolia macrophylla has leaves so large as to suggest rela- 
tionship to the banana, and flowers of waxen-white, spreading to 
form a chalice seven or eight inches deep and a foot across. The 
flowers are not only large but beautiful, and the fragrance carries 
far. It is perhaps the most tropical-looking tree that is really 
hardy in our climate. Select small or medium size trees, as large 
Magnolias are difficult to transplant. 

The Pin Oak is easily distinguished from other species even 
at a distance, by its drooping lower branches, which give it a 
graceful, sharply ovate outline. It grows faster than most of the 
other Oaks, and its elegantly cut, glossy leaves color to bright 
red in fall. It has become a great favorite of late. Fine speci- 
mens and avenues of it are developing wherever there are people 
of good taste and judgment. 

The Lombardy Poplar, of compact, sky-searching, columnar 
habit, is frequently used to break the monotony of lower, round- 
topped trees, and for screening some objectionable view or build- 
ing. A group of three or four of these trees, preferably on a 
slight eminence, is strikingly effective. 

The Salisburia, or Gingko, does not cast a dense shade, but 
its beautiful leaves, shaped like the pinnules of a maidenhair fern, 
are never touched by any insect. It is a tall, distinguished- 
looking tree in which the planter will always take pride. 

The Tulip Tree is exceedingly handsome in leaf and flower, 
grows rapidly to great height, and is suited to many localities. 
Unfortunately, it is difficult to transplant unless purchased when 
quite small. This is true also of the Sweet Gum, noted for the 
sparkling autumnal red of its shining, star-shaped leaves, and for 
its corky bark. 

These are the best trees of bold growth for specimen planting 
on small lawns, and for grouping about the boundaries. Among 



WM. FLEMER, SPRINGFIELD, N. J. 

DECIDUOUS TREES OF MEDIUM 
GROWTH 

for planting nearer to the house and in the foreground, we recom- 
mend the Fern-leaved Beech as one of the best. It is slow in 
growth, but of elegant round habit. During the growing season 
its young shoots with their finely cut leaves are like tendrils, 
giving the little tree a rare, wavy aspect. 

A greater contrast to this tree than the Bungei Catalpa could 
hardly be imagined. It has large, soft, heavy leaves, forming a 
dense, rounded formal head. As a natural arbor covering it is 
unequaled, and lately it has become quite a favorite for terrace 
decoration, taking the place of tender and more expensive bay 
trees. 

The owner of every lot covets for it a few Japan Maples. 
These rare and dainty little trees have leaves as beautifully formed 
and colored as flowers. Plant them where they may be con- 
stantly enjoyed. Our first choice would be the handsome Pur- 
ple, or Blood-leaved, Atropurpureum. Its deeply cut leaves are 
a rich and constant red ; its habit that of a broad, bushy shrub. 
It is the hardiest and altogether the best of the Japan Maples. 
The Cut-leaved Purple, Atropurpureum dissectum, has nearly the 
same fine color on its mature leaves ; the young growths are a 
beautiful rose color, slender and pendulous. The leaves are 
deeply and delicately cut. This and the green Dissectum have 
the same broad, low habit. Aureum has golden color leaves. 

All the Willows are useful to the landscape gardener, but 
two of them are especially suited to our purpose : the Laurel- 
leaved Willow, with thick, shining leaves, and the Golden-barked, 
conspicuous for its bright yellow shoots in winter. Both will 
reach a growth above the medium size if left unpruned, but are 
finest when severely cut back each spring, so that the young 
shoots will be abundant. These trees are especially recom- 
mended for planting on low ground where many other trees 
would fail. The Laurel-leaved Willow is one of the few trees 
thriving along the salt-water edge. 

Japan has sent us another new and pretty tree in the Cercidi- 
phyllum. It has handsome light green foliage of cordate shape, 
prettily tinged with purple in the young shoots, changing to 
yellow and scarlet in fall. It grows fast and has an odd, 
fastigiate habit when young. 

Another odd and interesting tree is the Chinese Weeping 

*3 



PLANS FOR PLEASANT HOME SURROUNDINGS 

Cypress. It is a deciduous conifer of upright, tapering form. 
The small branches are pendulous, somewhat like those of the 
Cut-leaved Weeping Birch, but the general appearance of this 
tree is so upright that we do not class it among the weepers. 

The finest of our small-flowering trees are found among the 
Magnolias. Earliest blooming of all is Halleana (M. stellata) , 
with pure white, semi-double flowers that are delightfully fra- 
grant. It is dwarf and shrubby in habit, — just the tree for small 
yards. Conspicua comes next in the splendid bloom procession. 
Its great white flowers are lily-like, 4 or 5 inches deep, and so 
early as to be occasionally caught by late snow-storms. A good 
specimen scarcely shows its branches through the blossoms. 
Soulangeana is freest blooming of all the varieties, showing great 
purple and white buds when only a few feet high. It flowers a 
trifle later than Conspicua. These three are among the finest 
and hardiest of foreign Magnolias. The best time for trans- 
planting magnolias is in spring. During removal their fibrous 
roots must be carefully protected from wind and sun. Almost 
any good soil suits them, but they like best one that is warm, 
rich and moderately moist. 

Some of our outdoor artists now place the Dogwoods next to 
the magnolias as flowering trees, and next to the scarlet oak in 
brilliant autumn foliage. They bloom only a little later than the 
magnolias, while other trees and shrubs are yet dormant, and 
their broad, horizontal masses of flat, wide flowers are very 
showy. Scarlet berries succeed the blossoms. The Red- and 
the White-flowering varieties are fine for contrasting together. 

The Halesia, Silver Bell or Snowdrop Tree, as it is variously 
called, has exquisite drooping bells about an inch in length, and 
tinted with pink in the bud, strung thickly along its branches. 
These are followed by curious four-winged seeds, once used by 
the Indians for beads. 

The English Hawthorns are white with bloom in May. 
There are many handsome species of the Thorn, but if we could 
choose only one variety it would be Paul's Double Crimson. 
These trees are dense, low growers, occupying comparatively 
little space and paying tribute in rich glossy leafage, showy fra- 
grant flowers and pretty fruits. 

The Sorrel Tree, Andromeda arborea, is too often over- 
looked in choosing trees for a small yard. It has luxuriant, 
peach-like leaves, over which its loose, racemed clusters of white 
flower-bells droop gracefully, reminding one very much of lilies- 

«4 



WM. FLEMER, SPRINGFIELD, N. J. 

of-the-valley. Often the flowers are white until the leaves turn 
crimson in fall. The young shoots are as brightly colored as 
those of the crimson-barked dogwood. 

Perhaps the prettiest bright-berried tree for small enclosures 
is the English Strawberry Tree, laden in fall and early winter 
with large, oddly formed fruits of scarlet and orange. Its stems 
are a dark, polished green at all seasons of the year. Plant 
against some evergreen to show its berries well. 

For much of the interest lent by variety of growth and out- 
line we are indebted to the 

WEEPING DECIDUOUS TREES 

Among the largest of these are the Weeping Willows, that are 
such favorites for planting along the waterside. They are 
bright with a tender green first of all the trees in spring; and 
their cord-like young branches droop four or five feet below the 
older ones that support them. The Weeping Beech forms a large 
tree of curious, picturesque growth. Its tortuous, down- 
sweeping branches make rich bowers of foliage. 

Among smaller trees of drooping habit, the Japan Weeping 
Rose-flowered Cherry is considered finest. It is especially 
adapted to small lawns and gardens. Rosy pink buds and flowers 
wreathe its slender branches before the leaves appear, clothing 
the tree quite to the ground with a mist of bloom. 

Teas' Weeping Mulberry and the Camperdown Elm both 
form beautiful green tents and playgrounds for the children. 
They are strong-growing and in a few years form good-sized 
specimens. Young's Weeping Birch makes a handsome tree 
when grafted on good stems. Its shoots are fine and thread-like. 

The Weeping Dogwood is a quaint little tree with upright 
leader and drooping branches. 



CONIFEROUS EVERGREENS 

The selection of evergreens for single planting and massing 
is usually difficult for a novice. We therefore give the character 
and limitations of the best sorts, with some hints on their uses 
and arrangement. 

The Arborvitves transplant so readily, are so neat-habited, 
and, in many cases, so brightly colored that landscape gardeners 

»5 



PLANS FOR PLEASANT HOME SURROUNDINGS 

use them in quantity. The American or Western species are 
hardier, grow larger and are more generally useful than the Biota, 
or Eastern, sorts, which are yet so fine as to deserve some care in 
protection. The Pyramidal Arborvitae is a compact, slender 
column of dark green, used, like the Lombardy Poplar, for strik- 
ingly effective groups. Compacta is a densely branched dwarf 
form, of oval outline and rich green color. It is a good choice 
for small lawns, low hedges and evergreen bedding. The Globe 
Arborvitae forms a small, dense round head without any training. 
Peabody's Golden is certainly one of the handsomest of the 
tinted conifers ; it contrasts beautifully with darker evergreens. 
Among the Biotas there are two especially beautiful varieties : 
Elegantissima, with flat, fern-like young growths of golden 
yellow ; and Nana aurea, an elegant little dwarf, with bright, 
gold-tipped twigs. 

The Firs and Spruces incline to blue and silver rather than 
to golden tints. Finest of them all is the Colorado Blue Spruce, 
an exceptionally beautiful tree, with foliage of rich silver-blue. 
We advise the purchase of grafted stock, in every case, as seed- 
ling trees are not so finely colored. Abies concolor, the new 
Rocky Mountain species, is almost as beautiful as the Colorado 
Blue. It is of fairly rapid growth, has yellow bark on the young 
branches, and unusually long, light green or silvery leaves curved 
upward. The foliage of Nordmann's Fir is wide, thick, dark 
green and lustrous, with a silvery under surface that gives the 
tree its name. The fir forms a thick, dense specimen of beautiful 
proportions. The White Spruce has foliage of silvery gray. It 
is a fine native tree of medium size and naturally dense, pyram- 
idal growth. The Mt. Atlas Cedar, Cedrus Atlantica glauca, 
is another beautiful blue-tinted tree. It has feathery drooping 
branchlets and a most graceful appearance. Noble's Silver, 
Frazer's Silver and the Weeping English Silver also have elegant 
foliage of silvery character. 

The Hemlock and Norway Spruces, although they make 
beautiful specimens when young, are now chiefly used for screens, 
hedges and shelter-belts, for which they furnish excellent material. 
Douglas' Spruce grows with unusual rapidity and is clothed 
quite to the ground with vigorous branches. Its leafage is light 
green. The Oriental Spruce has very dense, dark foliage, that 
never shows open spaces or the brown branches in its center. 
It is a tall, pyramidal tree that is fine enough for any situation. 
Pumila is a compact, dwarf spruce of perfect symmetry, especially 
desirable for small lawns and cemeteries. The Weeping Norway 

16 




One year after planting 



The above two pictures were loaned to us by the "Outdoor Ait Club," of 
Brooklyn, N. V., and are good comparisons of before and after planting. Note the 
cozy and homelike transformation. 



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IRVIT8 

A X B 

VEGETAHLES 






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PLAN C 

For a suburban property 150 ft. square 

The key to this plan will be found in the 
''Planting Lists," on pages 5 to 9. 

This plan is one of a place planted by 
us, and in its present condition is one of 
the most beautiful properties in its neigh- 
borhood. The house has rustic stonework 
as a base for the front porch. As there is 
quite an inclination in the surface toward 
the right, this base is about ten feet at the 
corner tower, while at the porte-cochere 
corner it is less than four feet. To conceal 
the wall at all seasons, it was decided to 
bank a selection of the best dwarf conifers 
around the base. The result has been 
most gratifying, for the effect is fine the 
year round. The contrasts between the 
different tones of green foliage with the 
various golden, yellow, blue, silver and 
bronzy tints is fairly indescribable. 




Effective planting along a path and steps 



WM. FLEMER, SPRINGFIELD, N. J. 

Spruce, like the Weeping English Silver, is valuable for its odd, 
interesting growth, and the variety given by it. 

Juniperus tamariscifolia is interesting for the same reason. 
It is a pretty low, trailing shrub, with leaves of glistening dark 
green, used chiefly for rockwork, borders and the edges of 
groups. Another good dark-leaved species is Japonica, a dwarf, 
dense, bushy little tree, with leaves of lively green. Its variety, 
the Japan Golden, is rich yellow through summer. Douglas' 
Golden Juniper is one of the good newer sorts. Its growth is 
dense and spreading, its foliage a constant golden color through- 
out the year. Elegantissima is taller and particularly attractive 
in winter, when the gold-bronze of its young twigs contrasts 
strongly with the dark older foliage. 

The Pines are bold and handsome or picturesque in growth, 
and so different in character that species may be selected for 
almost any use or location. The Austrian grows rapidly to a 
tall, handsome tree, with dark, massive, spreading branches. 
Cembra, the Swiss Stone Pine, forms a tall, compact cone, with 
short, silvery leafage. Of the dwarfer sorts the Mugho and the 
Dwarf White are most useful. The first makes a broad, dome- 
shaped bush of dark green, twice as broad as its height. We 
use it for planting on bare hillsides, terrace banks, small lawns, 
or near salt water. The Dwarf White Pine is a naturally dense 
and elegant little tree, that forms fine specimens without trim- 
ming. It has beautiful silvery needles, and is of especial value. 

The Retinosporas are suitable for the smallest lawns, for 
grouping with arborvitaes, yews, etc., in beds, as in Plan C 
or for growing in pots for house and terrace decoration. 
R. obtusa nana is the variety which the Japanese use chiefly 
for the latter purpose, — a weird little tree of irregular growth, 
with black-green foliage. Obtusa nana aurea has yellow- 
tinted leaves. Filifera's odd cone of drooping thread-like 
branchlets shows exquisite tints of soft light green. The color, 
together with its curiously pretty growth, makes it especially 
valuable for massing in the front line of evergreen belts and 
groups. This, also, has a choice yellow-tinted variety, Filifera 
aurea. Pisifera aurea has horizontal branches forming a close 
pyramid of yellow. Plumosa carries its small foliage on short 
branches, like plumes of clear, light green. Plumosa aurea, the 
Golden Retinospora, is one of the genuinely golden and constant 
evergreens. The foliage of Squarrosa Veitchi is feathery, and of 
a rich silvery glaucous or steel-blue, that contrasts well with the 
dark green and golden tints of other evergreens. 

17 



PLANS FOR PLEASANT HOME SURROUNDINGS 

Unlike most evergreens, the Yews thrive well in shade, and 
this trait fits well their need for shelter, for, unfortunately, they 
are not entirely hardy in our climate. The Irish Yew forms a 
dark, slender column that requires no clipping to preserve its 
shape. It requires but little space, is distinct and quite effective 
in grouping. Cuspidata brevifolia is a handsome, rare new sort, 
more broadly pyramidal, and thought to be entirely hardy. Both 
are slow-growing and refined in appearance. In spring, when 
tipped with bright young twigs, they are especially attractive. 

To mingle with the conifers, giving variety in foliage and in 
general contour, we have a number of handsome 



BROAD-LEAVED EVERGREENS 

some of which have splendid flowers to brighten their dark leaf- 
masses. After the Rhododendrons, which follow in a chapter of 
their own, Kalmla latifolia is the finest shrub of this class. In 
cultivation it forms a broad, dense shrub, conspicuous from its 
shining leaves in summer and winter. In May and June the 
great rounded flower-clusters appear, opening quaintly angled 
pink buds into masses of almost white bloom. Anything finer 
than this contrast of pearly pink and white with the leaves glis- 
tening green it would be hard to imagine. It is a shrub of the 
greatest value for specimens or massing. 

The Andromedas, now a much-divided family according to 
later rulings, are among the first of these shrubs to bloom. 
A. Catesbai (now Leucothoe Catesbai) has the beauty of its long, 
curving leaf-sprays displayed everywhere in elegant indoor win- 
ter decorations. In culture the shrub is fountain-like, sweeping 
the ground with these sprays on every side. Very early in 
spring short panicles of closely set, small white flowers are borne 
beneath almost every leaf. A. Japonica divides the honors more 
evenly between leaf and bloom. Its slender racemes of pure 
white blossoms overhang the shorter deep green leaves, and thus 
are better displayed. Both are among the most graceful of the 
early-blooming evergreens. 

Azalea amcena has showier flowers of soft red in May, and 
small dark green leaves that turn bronze-red in winter. It is a 
neat low shrub, always bright, and excellent for bordering ever- 
green groups, etc. 

Among shrubs valued chiefly for their handsome leaves are 

18 



WM. FLEMER, SPRINGFIELD, N. J. 

Berberis ilicifolia, a rare shrub, with wide dark, spiny leaves ; 
the well-known Tree Box, in pyramidal and standard form ; 
Euonymus Japonica, with broad, polished leaves of darkest green ; 
the rare Japan Holly, described under Hedge Boundaries ; and 
the Mahonias, Aquifolia and Japonica. The latter are useful for 
lawn groups in shade. Their foliage resembles that of the Holly, 
but is larger, and bronzes beautifully in winter. 

The Cotoneasters, the fine American Holly and Pyracantha 
Lalandi are grown as much for their bright fruits as for their 
leaves. In warm climates the Holly becomes a fine tree. 

The Yuccas grow shrubby with age, are evergreen, and their 
great rosettes of long, sword-shaped leaves always suggest the 
tropics, especially when crowned with their great stems of white 
flowers. Groups of them in front of evergreens are very striking. 
They thrive in the driest and most exposed situations. 

RHODODENDRONS 

A little more intelligent care in planting these grand ever- 
green shrubs would dispel the illusion that they are difficult to 
grow. They grow naturally in damp, shaded places, so in 
choosing a location for groups of them, select northern exposures, 
if possible, where there is shade part of the day, at least. 
Remove two or three feet of the surface soil and fill in with a 
mixture of leaf-mold, swamp muck or field sods, and a good 
proportion of sharp sand. Thoroughly decayed manures may be 
used, but no fresh ones. All these materials should be well 
decayed and well mixed. After carefully setting the plants and 
firming the earth well about them, mulch deeply with leaves. In 
dry weather moisture must be liberally supplied. Top-dress the 
beds occasionally with fine old manures. Where exposed to 
strong winter sunshine protect with spruce or pine boughs, as 
the sun shining on frozen leaves spoils or injures them. Like 
azaleas, these shrubs refuse to grow in a soil that contains much 
lime, or in dry, hard ground. Ferns and herbaceous plants 
thrive finely among Rhododendrons. 

The hardiest of the showier species is Catawbiense, with 
large clusters of lilac flowers. From it have been raised many 
superb hybrids that are better suited to our climate than any 
others. Everestianum, with flowers of rosy lilac, is hardiest. 
Charles Dickens, crimson-flowered, is also hardy. 

Among the next hardiest are Album elegans and Album 

19 



PLANS FOR PLEASANT HOME SURROUNDINGS 

grandiflorum, both superb white-flowered sorts ; Blandyanum, 
crimson; Caractacus, rich purplish crimson; Roseum elegans 
and Roseum superbum, beautiful pink flowers, and Purpureum 
elegans, lovely purplish rose. 

FLOWERING SHRUBS 

In grounds of limited extent, where the planting of many 
trees is impracticable, an abundance of well-chosen shrubs is 
even more important than usual. They form a brilliant under- 
growth and supplement to the trees, and, at some seasons, 
almost the entire beauty of the lawn depends upon them. 

As it is very important in planting them to know the relative 
height of shrubs at maturity, we append a list of the more useful 
sorts, giving their average height when well developed ; also 
their blooming time and relative usefulness. 

Next to the Rhododendrons, the Azaleas are accepted as our 
most brilliant hardy flowering shrubs. They are usually planted 
as specimens, in beds by themselves, or with Rhododendrons. 
The last is the more effective way, for the Azaleas bloom before 
they have much foliage of their own, and the Rhododendron's 
dark leaves are a fine foil for their gay flowers. Then, too, the 
" Dendrons " furnish the shelter and shade that Azaleas love, 
and both thrive well in the same soils and locations. Azalea 
mollis has fine trusses of large flowers in different shades of lemon 
and orange-red. The Ghent Azaleas grow 3 or 4 feet high, 
bearing their showy trusses of white, lemon, blush, salmon, rose, 
orange, scarlet or crimson, with great freedom in May and June. 
A beautiful native variety, with waxen flowers in an exquisite 
shade of pink, is Azalea Vaseyi. 

The Altheas, Hibiscus Syriacus, bloom as gaily at a time 
when their flowers are much needed. Their great variety of 
color makes it possible to use them in large quantities even in 
small areas. The Variegated-leaved variety is especially good 
either for hedges, groups or specimens. 

A good shrub for large, tropical-looking clumps is Aralia 
spinosa, or Hercules' Club. It has pinnate leaves, prickly stems 
and immense panicles of white flowers in August. A. penta- 
phylla, a smaller species, is grown for its fine palmate leaves. 
Some shrubs of this class are desirable, not only for their own 
beauty, but to give interest and variety to the lawn. 

Berberis Thunbergii well deserves the star that precedes its 



WM. FLEMER, SPRINGFIELD, N. J. 

name in our list. It is equally beautiful for a dozen or more 
different needs of landscape gardening. Some of its special 
uses are for bordering larger shrubs, planting around the founda- 
tions of a house and for low hedges. The Golden Elder and the 
Purple-leaved Barberry are fine for contrasting with other 
shrubs. Both fruits and leaves of the Barberry are violet-purple, 
the flowers yellow. Callicarpa purpurea, grown for its fine 
fall effects, also has berries of the same beautiful color thickly 
fringing its long shoots. The flowers are small and light purple. 

The flowers of the Calycanthus, or Spice Bush, are an odd 
chocolate-brown and borne, like partially opened buds, in the 
axils of its large, shining leaves. Had this shrub much less 
beauty it would still be grown in quantity for the spicy odor of 
these flowers. 

Early in April the Japan Quince is a burning mass of scarlet 
bloom. It makes a fine large shrub, and its long, abundant 
thorns, together with its thick, vigorous growth, adapt it well 
for defensive hedges. 

Not so showy, but quite as beautiful and free-blooming are 
the Deutzias. Crenata and Pride of Rochester are tall-growing 
and well fitted for screens or the background of shrub groups. 
The first has pure white, double flowers, which in the latter are 
tinged with pink. Gracilis is a charming low, dense shrub, found 
excellent for bordering groups, planting near the house, or where 
large shrubs are inadmissible. Its delicate single white flowers 
are borne in drooping sprays through early summer. 

Taking thought for winter effects, we must plant somewhere 
against the evergreens a few such shrubs as the Red-branched 
Dogwood and the Willows mentioned among " Trees of Medium 
Growth." When well cut back every year, so that abundant 
new shoots will be formed, the bright red bark of this Dogwood 
is as effective as flowers or berries. The Forsythias, Viridissima 
and Suspensa, have dark green polished stems, but are grown 
chiefly for their sunburst of golden yellow bloom in March and 
April. Kerria Japonica and Variegata also have smooth green 
stems all the year. Their larger, golden yellow flowers are borne 
through midsummer. This shrub is much esteemed, especially 
in the variegated form.* Hypericum densiflorum is another 
pretty yellow-flowered shrub, but lower and more bushy. It 
can be grown in shaded places where other shrubs will not thrive. 
Hypericum Moserianum is listed under perennials. 

*The White Kerria, Rhodotyfus kerrioidei, has white, syringa-shaped flowers, followed 
by shining black seeds, all summer. 

21 



PLANS FOR PLEASANT HOME SURROUNDINGS 

The Pearl Bush, Exochorda, is a medium-sized shrub of 
singular delicacy and beauty. Its branches curve gracefully on 
all sides with the weight of the milk-white, syringa-like flowers 
that cover them in June. 

The Purple and White Fringe Trees, from their tall habit, 
form fine background or specimen shrubs. They do not belong 
to the same genus, and are very unlike in general character. 
The flowers of the White Fringe droop gracefully to fill the open 
spaces among its large, leathery leaves ; the flowers of the Purple 
Fringe are so minute and borne in such great panicles as to 
resemble wreaths of smoke. 

Of the Bush Honeysuckles, the Tartarian and Morrow's are 
the best. The fresh pink of their abundant flowers contrasts 
charmingly with their deep green leaves, and after the flowers 
come heavy crops of red clustered berries. 

The Great Panicled Hydrangea is the most popular and 
widely planted of all shrubs. It may be trained to suit different 
tastes and lawns, — into odd Japanesque tree-form, or planted in 
masses and cut back to the ground every year to produce more 
vigorous shoots. The latter is the only way to retain the fine 
size of the flower-heads. 

The American and Japan Judas Trees are valuable for their 
early spring effects. Cut back to large shrub form and grouped 
with the Chinese Magnolias, which bloom at the same time, the 
Judas' dense, rosy masses of flowers form a glowing background 
for the great white Magnolia cups. 

In praise of the Lilac little need be said. It is a shrub that 
can never become common however widely planted. We now 
use it for screens, hedges, specimens, beds and for forcing. 
The fine old Purple, White and Persian have been crossed with 
foreign sorts until there are numerous varieties. Among the 
best of the new and old are Charles X, with loose, large clusters 
of reddish purple ; Josikaea, of tree-like growth, with dark, 
leathery leaves and purple flowers in June ; Marie Legraye, the 
very finest white Lilac ; Rothomagensis, with superb reddish 
purple plumes, and Sougeana, deep reddish lilac. 

Myrica cerifera, the Candleberry or Wax Myrtle, is a low, 
spreading native shrub, with handsome leaves and small white 
berries in autumn. Its useful traits are given under Ground 
Cover Plants. 

The Mock Oranges (Philadelphus) have four-petaled milk- 
white flowers, with golden centers clustered along their branches. 
Those of P. coronarius, the fine old Garland Syringa, have a 



WM. FLEMER, SPRINGFIELD, N. J. 

delightful fragrance. Grandiflorus has larger, odorless blossoms. 
Both are tall-growing and may be used in backgrounds or cut 
back to denser, lower growth. P. foliis aureis is a pretty dwarf 
form, with golden yellow leaves, quite constant in color, and 
valuable for edging tall groups, or contrasting with such choice 
purple-leaved shrubs as Prunus Pissardi. This, by the way, 
is perhaps our very best dark-leaved shrub. When cut back 
so that the new shoots are strong, the leaves are so deep and 
velvety as to appear almost black. 

Pyrus arbutifolia, the Red Chokeberry, has pretty pink and 
white flowers and dull red fruits. Like the Red-fruited Snow- 
berry or Coralberry, mentioned under Ground Cover Plants, it 
will thrive on thin, dry soils. 

To the usual fine traits of a rose, Rosa rugosa adds others 
that make it a choice shrub and hedge plant. It forms a striking 
bush, clothed with large, handsome foliage and continuous showy 
single pink or white flowers. These are interspersed with large 
scarlet heps all through the season. 

In springtime all the Spireas are very striking from their 
extravagance of bloom. Some of them bloom all summer ; others 
have beautiful leaf-colors in autumn. For groups, specimens, 
borders, screen and ornamental hedges they are among the best 
shrubs. Thunbergii, Arguta, Prunifolia, Van Houttei and Opuli- 
folia, named in the order of their flowering, all have white flowers 
and a neat, graceful habit. By some landscape gardeners Van 
Houttei is given first place in the whole category of shrubs. It 
seems to combine all the good traits of the others in a way that 
makes it unlike any of them. Thunbergii has a delicate beauty 
at all seasons. Its early, fluffy masses of small white blossoms 
are followed by narrow, willowy leaves that color brightly in fall. 
Prunifolia is the fine old Bridal Wreath,— a mass of long, slender 
shoots, so thickly set with small, perfectly double flowers as to 
give a solid white effect. Opulifolia aurea is very conspicuous 
from the golden yellow tint of its leaves. It has white, double 
flowers. 

Among pink-flowered, summer-blooming Spireas we consider 
Callosa, Bumalda, and its variety. Anthony Waterer, the best. 
The latter has dark crimson flowers, borne profusely and con- 
tinually. It is one of the finest of our newer shrubs. Caryop- 
teris mastacanthus, the blue-flowered " verbena shrub," is similar 
to the spireas in habit, and is sometimes classed with them. Its 
flowers are abundant all season, and quite fragrant. 

Of the spirea style of beauty, and closely allied to them, is 

23 



PLANS FOR PLEASANT HOME SURROUNDINGS 

Stephanandra flexuosa. Its habit is fountain-like, with slender 
branches regularly interwoven in fan-shape, and so dense that 
any growth of weeds beneath them is impossible. The small 
white flowers are very abundant, making the shrub quite showy 
in blooming time ; in fall the leaves are an unusual reddish purple. 
A choice shrub for borders or to grow in front of larger shrubs. 

The Tamarisk family contains some beautiful species that, if 
they had no flowers whatever, would be valuable for breaking 
the monotony of ordinary green leaves. Their foliage is of a 
feathery, light character, like that of asparagus, and extremely 
pretty. Their delicate spikes of flowers are usually in some 
warm shade of pink that forms a charming contrast to the leaves. 
Besides ordinary uses they are much planted near the seaside. 

Viburnum plicatum, the showy Snowball, of hydrangea-like 
effects, is by far the best known of its family, but some other 
sorts deserve greater attention than they are given. Tomen- 
tosum, the single form of Plicatum, has flat, pure white cymes of 
flowers borne profusely along the branches in early June. V . 
Lantana has large, soft, heavy leaves and red fruits following its 
white, clustered flowers. Dentatum bears its white blossoms later 
than other sorts. Dwarf Opulus is a pretty little bush for borders. 

The Weigelas, or Diervillas, bloom in June after the lilacs. 
Their flowers are large, trumpet-shaped, of all colors from pure 
white to red, and sprinkled thickly among the leaves. W. Candida 
opens its white blossoms profusely in June, and at intervals 
through summer ; Rosea is by far the finest of the pink-flowered 
sorts ; Eva Rathke, brilliant crimson, is a new favorite ; the Va- 
riegated Dwarf Weigela is perhaps the prettiest and most useful 
of them all. It has pink flowers in charming contrast with 
silver-varied leaves, and stands the sun quite well. 

In beds by themselves or in front of shrub borders we rec- 
ommend the use of as many of the choicest 

FREE-BLOOMING ROSES 

as the garden can spare room for. There is no danger of having 
too many unless the temptation to crowd many bushes in too 
small a space presents itself. The Hybrid Perpetuals are 
strongest and tallest. They bloom royally in June, occasionally 
through the summer, and liberally again in fall. The Teas 
scatter their flowers impartially through the season as long as 
they are kept growing ; seasons that most favor their growth 

24 




Hollyhocks in an old-fashioned garden 




Golden Elder along a drive 



IV M. FLEMER, SPRINGFIELD, N. J. 

will, of course, produce the most flowers. The Hybrid Teas 
have good qualities of both classes, and bloom continually. 

The climbing Roses are easily located near porches. The 
three best entirely hardy sorts are the Crimson and Yellow 
Ramblers and Dorothy Perkins, the new shell-pink, fragrant 
Rambler. The Rambler traits of hardiness, amazingly quick 
growth, and splendidly clustered flowers are now very generally 
known. That fine old Climbing Tea, Gloire de Dijon, makes a 
strong growth and blooms freely when well located. As far 
north as Philadelphia it is entirely hardy. Its large, full, amber- 
pink and yellow flowers have a delightful fragrance. 

Some of the more useful and free-blooming Hybrid Teas are 
Augustine Guinosseau (White La France), Duchess of Albany 
(Red La France), and Kaiserin Augusta Victoria. The latter 
has large, full, elegantly formed flowers of purest white. We 
recommend it, without any reservations, as the freest really fine 
white rose for bedding. The freest-blooming really fine pink 
bedding rose is Maman Cochet, — vigorous, spreading, handsome 
in leaf, with superb, deep, full flowers and long, pointed buds. 
Its fragrance is delightful. Duchess of Albany is a more robust, 
deeper tinted form of the famous silvery pink La France ; 
Guinosseau, a paler one, exquisitely shaped and colored. Clo- 
thilde Soupert, a Tea-Polyantha hybrid, is the best bedding rose 
of all, did we consider only vigor and continual extravagance of 
bloom. It is a bushy, well-balanced little plant, and its clusters 
of medium-sized, full, flesh-pink flowers are exceedingly pretty. 

Choosing carefully from the long list of Hybrid Perpetuals, 
we would recommend the following : Gruss an Teplitz, a new 
and brilliant scarlet bedder ; Mabel Morrison, with large, full, 
grandly formed white flowers ; Marshall P. Wilder, bright crim- 
son ; Mrs. John Laing, clear bright pink ; Paul Neyron, deeper 
pink, so large as to resemble a peony ; Victor Hugo, dark 
maroon. Margaret Dickson, the finest white Hybrid Perpetual, 
has a pale flesh center and large, thick, incurved petals. It is 
also one of the most fragrant Roses. 

Besides the climbing roses there are a number of other 

HARDY VINES 

that will give shade and screening, while toning down the raw- 
ness of a new place sooner than trees and shrubs. For covering 
walls there is nothing finer than Ampelopsis Veitchi, the Boston 



PLANS FOR PLEASANT HOME SURROUNDINGS 

Ivy. If small vines of it are planted, give them a little rich soil 
and slight protection until well started, when, unaided, they will 
soon cover walls with a thick, smooth mat of leaves, green in 
summer, scarlet-crimson in fall. The Virginia Creeper,^, quin- 
quefolia, is an admirable vine for screens or dense shade, and 
colors quite as brilliantly in fall. For a dark covering the beauti- 
ful, but somber, old English Ivy grows well on both walls and 
tree trunks. It needs about the same care as the Boston Ivy 
until established. Being evergreen, it is handsome all the year. 

Clematis paniculata is particularly useful for covering veran- 
das, pillars, fences, etc., where a trellis is easily provided. In 
blooming time it is white with dense wreaths and drifts of flowers. 
Its numerous branches grow from 25 to 30 feet in a season, and 
should be cut back every spring. Jackmani, magnificent in its 
season with sheets of great deep purple blossoms, is still the 
finest of the large-flowering Clematises. Even small young plants 
are bloom-laden, the rich flowers appearing in crops all season. 

Hall's Honeysuckle, also nearly an evergreen, is a model 
porch vine. Its white-to-buff flowers appear in successive crops 
all summer. It blooms better when no trailers are allowed to 
grow along the ground. Screens, fences, hedges, arbors, etc., 
can also be made beautiful with this vine. 

Bignonia radicans and Wistaria Chinensis are two vines that 
climb high and twine tightly. The latter is a favorite vine for 
training over balconies or the facades of tall buildings, which it 
drapes with light leaves and purple cascades of bloom. The 
Bignonia has foliage of a similar character, but its flowers are 
great waxen trumpets of bright scarlet, growing in clusters at the 
tips of branches that droop with their weight. Both these vines 
are used for porches, summer-houses, walls, tree-trunks, etc., 
but the latter use is unwise, unless the trees are dead or worth- 
less, for woody vines of this sort are pythons of the garden. 

HEDGE BOUNDARIES 

A hedge is a far prettier boundary for any place than the 
most ornamental of fences. It is a better screen, forms a good 
background for handsome perennials, and makes the grounds 
look larger. If planted with choice shrubs, among which bloom- 
ing vines have been interspersed, a hedge is as beautiful as any 
other part of the garden. 

The California Privet is the most popular hedge plant of the 

26 



WM. FLEMER, SPRINGFIELD, N. J. 

time, and will give fairly good results under the most adverse 
conditions. For a low hedge we would set the plants 6 inches 
apart in the row ; or, if planted in double rows, let the plants be 
8 inches apart in the rows and the rows 6 to 8 inches apart. 
The little shrubs should be cut back to within an inch of the 
ground the first year to make the hedge full at the base. In 
some cases, where the soil is thin, it may be well to follow this 
treatment another season. A good rule is to keep cutting a 
young hedge down until uniformly thick and full at the base. 

Berberis Thunbergii does not require so much cutting down 
as the Privet, being of a low, bushy habit that naturally 
fills in close to the ground, and the shrubs may be planted 
a foot apart. These traits, together with its silvery leaves, 
pretty flowers, bright fruits, and fierce armament of thorns, 
make it an ideal plant for low ornamental defensive hedges. For 
very shady locations and on very thin soils, however, we would 
give preference to the Privet. 

There are many other deciduous shrubs used for ornamental 
hedges, as Cydonia Japonica, Tipsa rugosa, Altheas, etc. 

For evergreen hedges we have a greater variety of good 
material. The Norway Spruce, American Arborvit^ and 
Hemlock Spruce are beautiful to look at and bear close pruning. 
Their comparative merits are in the order named. For a hedge 
of medium height the plants can be set 1 8 to 24 inches apart. 

For a very low evergreen hedge the best two plants are the 
Boxwood and Japan Holly. The latter is still a rare plant, and 
being slow of propagation, will necessarily be expensive, but we 
know of nothing that will equal it in richness of effect. It is 
like the Boxwood in general appearance, but the leaves are 
much larger, lighter green and do not change color in winter as 
Box leaves sometimes do. Should be set 8 to 12 inches apart. 

Among evergreens useful for tall screens and shelter-belts, the 
Norway Spruce is best ; the Hemlock Spruce, and the Austrian, 
Scotch and White Pines are also frequently used for this purpose. 
On account of its close, columnar habit the Lombardy Poplar 
is the deciduous tree most used for this purpose. 

GROUND COVER PLANTS 

Where grass can be made to grow evenly and closely it is 
finer than anything else for covering a bare surface, but on steep 
banks, in dense shade, and on very dry, thin soils, it is sometimes 
necessary to use small shrubs or creeping plants and vines. 

27 



PLANS FOR PLEASANT HOME SURROUNDINGS 

For steep banks Rosa Wichuraiana and the Honeysuckles 
form a good covering. The former is a beautiful single white 
rose that mats the ground closely with its small, shining, evergreen 
leaves. It blooms in clusters, and bright red berries succeed its 
blossoms. 

Vinca minor is also evergreen and well adapted to this use in 
densely shaded places. Few people notice what lovely blue 
flowers hide under its leaves very early in spring. Another shade- 
loving plant is the fine old English Ivy. A little good soil about 
its roots and some protection during severe winters are all that 
are necessary to establish it. 

On gravelly, thin soils the Red Coralberry grows obligingly, 
while in the driest and most trying locations Myrica cerifera 
will thrive. There is, therefore, no reason why the most 
unpromising portions of any lawn should not yield their quota 
of beauty. 

Without encroaching upon the open lawn space found so 
desirable even in small grounds, it is possible to fringe the bor- 
ders of the shrubbery with a fairly good collection of 

PERENNIAL PLANTS 

A good selection would include sorts to bloom all season ; a good 
arrangement would scatter them to places where their blooming 
time would supplement that of the trees and shrubs. One of 
the best early-flowering perennials is Dicentra spectabilis, the 
Bleeding Heart, full of rosy blossoms on drooping racemes in 
early May. They have a curious heart-shape, suggesting the 
common name. Although Lilies-of-the-valley prefer somewhat 
moist and shaded places, they will form fine irregular clumps 
almost anywhere along the edge of the shrubbery, if given rich 
soil. They are usually fragrant, with dainty white flower sprays 
in April. 

The different species of Phlox bloom from spring until fall. 
P. subulala, the pretty Moss Pink, opens its mats of pinkish purple 
flowers in April and May. Few plants are prettier for low, flat 
borders. The lilac- flowered Procumbens blooms next, and 
scarcely fades before the first of the superb Decussata hybrids 
unfold their panicles. To extend their blooming time until frost 
it is only necessary to pinch back some of the shoots in June and 
July. The brightest and the most delicate colors are represented 
in their flowers. 

28 



WM. FLEMER, SPRINGFIELD, N. J. 

Quite as grand and showy a race are the Peonies, now no 
longer a type of coarsely brilliant beauty, but vieing with rose 
and rhododendron in the estimation of outdoor artists. The new 
and the imported varieties show some single, loosely graceful, 
and delicately colored flowers, as well as fine, full types. They 
bloom from April until June. 

Of the Japanese Irises a noted landscape gardener has said 
that " wealthy men build and maintain glass houses at great 
expense to shelter plants not half so fine." Their great flowers 
are indeed superbly formed and dyed with glorious hues. 
Although well adapted to water-margins, good beds of them can 
be established in any rich soil. The German Iris blooms earlier, 
has crested instead of widely opened flowers, and deserves quite 
as much praise as the Japanese. 

The Hollyhock, too, is having its day in this revival of 
appreciation for old-time flowers. Every one must admire its 
stately picturesqueness, and it has every good quality of a fine, 
tall perennial, including pronounced individuality. Of the 
Digitalis, or Foxglove, almost the same might be said. Of lower 
growth, it is yet almost as stately, and its deep, drooping bells 
represent shades of almost all colors. Often the throats are 
curiously tigered with velvety spots like those of the gloxinia. 

Rudbeckia, Golden Glow, is taking the place of the tall sun- 
flowers for mass effects in yellow. It is a good specimen or 
background plant, loving full sun and a rich soil. Do not plant 
near porches or walks, as it is finer when seen at a distance. 
Hypericum Moserianum is another good yellow flower for mid- 
summer. It is low-growing, and generally classed as a shrub. 
Its golden yellow flowers are large and single, with a thick brush 
of long stamens in the center, giving them a soft, fluffy effect. 

Lythrum roseum, the Rosy Loosestrife, perfects its long 
branching spikes of pink flowers in June and July. It thrives in 
almost all soils and locations. Plumbago Larpent^: is one of 
the best bedding plants for autumn flowers. It has creeping 
stems that send up a multitude of deep blue blossoms. At the 
North it needs some winter protection. 

Of the tall Perennial Grasses, Arundo Donax, the Great 
Reed, of maize-like habit, and the Eulalias are the best and 
hardiest. Eulalia gracillima has long, slender leaf-blades, and is 
perhaps the most graceful of all. E. variegata has leaves of 
white and green ; in E. zebrina this same variegation is in bands 
crossing the leaves. 

29 



PLANS FOR PLEASANT HOME SURROUNDINGS 



THE FRUIT GARDEN 

Fruits every day in the year, from one's own garden, are 
among the delightful possibilities that good planning and a small 
plot of ground can yield. For the small fruit garden we recom- 
mend the following sorts as best : 

Apples. Yellow Transparent, early; Duchess, midsummer; 
Wealthy, early fall. Grimes' Golden, Wagner and York Imperial 
are good and good-keeping winter sorts. Hyslop is a large and 
beautiful deep crimson Crab Apple. 

Pears. Bartlett, summer ; Kieffer, for canning in autumn ; 
Seckel, the delicious little dessert Pear; Sheldon, autumn; 
Duchess, for dwarf trees that take up little space and bear young. 

Quinces. Champion, for productiveness and keeping qualities. 

Peaches. Champion, Crawford Late, Iron Mountain, 
Stump and Elberta. The latter is a fine yellow Peach. 

Plums. The best are the Japanese sorts for the small garden, 
of which Abundance, Wickson and Bartlett take the lead. 

Apricots. The Harris is most generally successful. 

Cherries. Windsor, dark ; Napoleon, white, heart-shaped ; 
and Montmorency, a large deep red Morello, we recommend as 
the best three sorts. 

Nuts. The Japan Chestnut, English Filbert and English 
Walnut are small and medium-sized trees that pay well. 

Grapes. Brighton, Diamond, Worden, Moore's Early, 
Niagara and Concord are good purple, white and red sorts. 

Currants. Fay's, red ; White Grape, for dessert, and Lee's 
Black, for medicinal and culinary purposes, are fine. 

Gooseberries. Downing is most generally satisfactory. 

Raspberries. Loudon, red, and Gregg, black, are the best. 

Blackberries. Our choice of a single sort would fall on Erie. 

Strawberries. Haverland and Bubach. 

ASPARAGUS AND RHUBARB 

are really the "first fruits" of the garden, preceding even the 
strawberries. Conover's Colossal is perhaps the best Asparagus. 
For a row of Rhubarb we would choose Myatt's Linnaeus. 

30 



WM. FLEMER, SPRINGFIELD, N. J. 



A HELPFUL TABLE 

This table is intended to be helpful in giving the height, 
blooming time and relative merits of shrubs and perennials, so 
that it will be easy to choose among them and to determine their 
position in the border. A star ("*) preceding the name of a shrub 
means that it is exceedingly handsome ; the figure i means a sec- 
ond choice, 2 a third, etc. The first column after the name gives 
the season during which the species is most attractive; for instance, 
the figure 5 means that a shrub blooms in May. A cross (t) be- 
fore the figures of this column means beautiful leaves ; a double 
cross (t) fine leaves, flowers and, in some cases, fruits. A 
dagger (|) means fine berries ; a star (*) brilliant bark. The 
second column gives the approximate height of shrubs and plants 
at maturity. The third column shows the page on which descrip- 
tion of the plant may be found. 



Season of 
attractiveness 

Altheas 8, 9 

Altheas, variegated- leaved J 4-10 

Aralia pentaphylla . . f 6-10 

Aralia spinosa % 6-10 

Azalea Vaseyi 4, 5 

Azalea mollis 5, 6 

Azalea Pontica (Ghent) 5, 6 

Berberis Thunbergii J 5- 1 

Berberis, Purple-leaved % 5- 1 

Callicarpa j 8 

Calycanthus 5 

Cydonia Japonica (Japan Quince) ... 4 

Deutzia crenata, and Pride of Roch. . 6 

Deutzia gracilis 6 

Dogwood, Red-branched *u- 4 

Elder, Golden t 4-11 

Exochorda 5 

Forsythia suspensa 3,4 

Forsythia viridissima 3,4 

Fringe, Purple 6 

Fringe, White 5 

Honeysuckle, Tartarian j 6 

Honeysuckle, Morrowi j. 6 

Hydrangea paniculata grandiflora . . 7-1 1 

Hypericum densiflorum 8 

Judas, American (Cercis) 4 

Judas, Japan 4 

Kerria Japonica 7-10 

Kerria Japonica variegata 7-10 



Height Descrip. 
in feet on page 
20 

20 



8 to 10 
6 to 8 
4 to 5 
6 to 8 

4 to 

2 to 

2 to 

3 to 

4 to 
4 to 
4 to 
4 to 
6 to 

4 to 
to 
to 
to 
to 
to 



3 . 
2/2 

2>A 

4 

s 

5 
6 

5 



4 to 
3 to 

5 to 

3 to 

6 to 

4 to 
6 to 
2 to 



20 
20 
20 
20 
20 
21 
21 



21 

21 
21 
H 

21 
22 
21 



22 
22 
22 
22 
21 
22 
22 



31 



PLANS FOR PLEASANT HOME SURROUNDINGS 



Season of Heieht 

attractiveness in feet 

2 . . Lilac, Purple 5 

2 . . Lilac, White 5 

2 . . Lilacs, Sougeana and Rothomagensis . 5 

2 . . Lilac, Josikaea 6 

3 . . Lilacs, Marie Legray and Chas. X . . 5 

Myrica \. 9-12 

Philadelphus coronarius 6 

Philadelphus aureus 5-10 

Philadelphus grandiflora 6 

Prunus Pissardi t 5-10 

Pyrus arbutifolia 4, 5 

Rhodotypus kerroides 5-1 1 

Rosa rugosa % 6-12 

Snowberry, Red-fruited -i'o- 3 

Spireas, Waterer and Bumalda .... 7-9 

3 . . Spiraa callosa 7- 9 

2 . . Spiraa arguta 4, 5 

Spiraa Thunbergii 5 

Spiraa Van Houttei 5 

2 . . Spiraa opulifolia aurea X 6-10 

2 . . Spiraa pruni folia (Bridal Wreath) . . 4, 5 

2 . . Stephanandra 5 

3 . . Tamarix t 5-10 

2 . . Viburnum, Dwarf Opulus t 5-10 

2 . . Viburnum dentatum 6 

Viburnum plicatum 6 

3 . . Viburnum tomentosum and Lantana . 6 
2 . . Weigela Candida 6-9 

. Weigela, Eva Rathke 6 

. Weigela rosea 6 

. Weigela, variegated -leaved 5-10 

HERBACEOUS 
2 . . Arundo Donax 

2 . . Caryopteris, or Verbena Shrub . . . 8-1 1 
1 . . Chrysanthemums, Hardy 10-11 

3 . . Dicentra spectabilis 5- 6 

4 . . Digitalis 6-8 

1 . . Eulalia gracillima 

2 . . Eulalia zebrina 

3 . . Hollyhocks 6-9 

4 . . Hypericum Moserianum 7-1 1 

2 . . Iris, German and Japan 5-8 

4 . . Lythrum roseum 7, 8 

1 . . Peonies 4- 6 

1 . . Phlox, Hardy, in varieties 5-10 

3 . . Rudbeckia 7- 9 

32 





S to 6 . 




5 to 6 . 




5 to 6 . 




5 to 6 . 




2 . 




3 to 4. 




3 to 4 . 




6 to 8 . 




8 to 10 . 




5 to 7 . 




4 to 6 . 




2 to 3 . 




3 to 4 . 




2 to 3 . 




2 to 3 . 




3 to 4. 




3 to 4 . 




5 to 7 . 




6 to 8 . 




6 to 8 . 




4 to 5 . 




8 to 10 . 




. 1%. 




• S to 7 . 




6 to 7 . 




. 6 to 7 . 




6 to 8 . 




4 to 6 . 




. 4 to 6 . 




. 4 to 5 . 



Descrip. 
on pace 
22 

22 
22 



IO to 
3 to 
1 to 

1 to 

2 tO 



4 to 
r to 

2 tO 
2 tO 

I to 

l A to 

6 to 



J. HOUei MCFUSUNO CO.. HOUTICUITUIUI PWNTtM. H*MI8i«in, Pt 



JUN. 5 1903 

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




